Electric switch



Jam 1943. A. B. NEW ON "2,309,207 ELECTRIC swn 'cn I '1 'Filed Oct. 14, 19:53

; v 1 E 34 Q 65' 3" so 31 a2 48 49 30 II 77 T8 OVERLOAD L- L CUT OUT I I s4-- I L 4 COMPRESSIOR, NVENTOR MOTOR, Alwtnn B.-Mom

ATTORNEY Patented Jan. 26, 1943 ELECTRIC SWITCH Alwln B. Newton, Minneapolis, Minn., assignor to Minneapolis-Honeywell Re.-. ator. Company, Minneapolis, Minn., a corporation of Delaware Application October 14, 1938, Serial No. 234,989

tion thermostatic disc 12. Toward the left of 15 Claims.

This invention relates to electric switches and more particularly to the type of switch adapted to interrupt a circuit when the flow of current becomes excessive. This type of switch is commonly known as an'overloa'd cut-out.

The usual overload cut-out automatically opens the circuit being protected when an excessive current passes through the circuit. Once this type of cut-out has been automatically tripped it is necessary to manually reset it to reestablish the circuit. In some cases, however, as exemplified by a refrigeration compressor motor the fact that excessive current flows in the circuit on the first attempt to start is not necessarily an indication that a permanent overload condition will exist. Consequently it may be desirable to attempt to start the motor automatically two or more times before finally opening the circuit. The present invention involves an overload cut-out which will provide this function.

An object of the invention is to provide a switch which will automatically open and close an electric circuit a predetermined number of times on excessive current conditions before finally leaving the circuit open.

Another object is to provide a thermally actuated overload cut-out which will automatically open and close the circuit being protected a predetermined number of times on overload before finally leaving the circuit open but which will close the circuit if the overload disappears before the cut-out has been finally opened.

Another object is to provide an overload cutout for a refrigeration compressor motor which will perform the above functions.

Another object is to provide a thermally actuated switch which is compensated for changes in ambient temperature.

Other objects will appear from the specification and appended claims and from the drawing in which:

Figure 1 is a sectional view of an overload cutout embodying the present invention,

Figures 2, 3, 4, and 5 are views showing the position of certain of the parts illustrated in Figure 1 in various stages of operation, and

Figure 6 is a diagrammatic view of the overload cut-out of Figure 1 as employed in a threephase refrigeration compressor motor circuit.

The control mechanism shown in Figure 1 is adapted to protect against overload in a threephase circuit. Mounted within a casing I is a cylindrical heater chamber ll of heat insulatlng material and approximately midway of the thermostatic disc 12 is a U-shaped heater l5.

Heater I5 is removable and is normally plugged into two sockets mounted in the lower part of the heater chamber ll. One of these sockets I1 is shown. Similarly, a removable heater I6 is mounted to the right of the thermostatic disc I2, one of the sockets l8 for mounting heater 18 being shown. It will be understood by those skilled in the art that heaters 15 and I6, placed in two lines of a three-phase circuit, will become excessively hot if an overload occurs in any of the three phases. Since the two heater and thermostatic disc 12 are in a heat insulating chamber, the temperature of disc I! will be substantially that of the hottest heater.

'A terminal block 20 is mounted in the lower part of casing l0 and is provided with a series of binding posts extending through an opening in casing I 0. Lead wires 2| and 22 connect the two ends of heater IS with binding posts 23 and 24, while wires 26 and 21 connect the two ends of heater IS with binding posts 28 and 29.

A contact support arm 32 is pivotally mounted with respect to casing ID on a pivot 33. A spring 34 surrounding pin 33 biases arm 32 against a stop 35 which is a part of an insulating block 36 rigidly attached to casing I 0. A contact 31 is carried by arm 32 on the side thereof toward thermostatic disc II. A contact 33, adapted to make with contact 31, is carried by a spring forced into engagement therewith by other parts of the mechanism. Wires 42 and 43 connect contacts 31 and 38 with binding posts 44 and 45,

respectively, on terminal block 20.

A contact operating post 48 extends horizontally to the right from the center of thermostatic disc I2 and is rigidly attached thereto. ments of thermostatic disc l2 to the left as will occur on excessive heating of heaters 15 and [6 will move post 48 to the left and allow spring blade 33 to assume its natural shape and there-' fore move contact 38 out of engagement with contact 31.

For simplicity of construction post 48 is made round. Near its right end, post 48 is turned to form a conical portion 49 and a notch 50, the

purpose of which will be hereinafter set forth.

A block 53 located immediately above the contacts has a downwardly extending portion 54 resting on post 48 and having a width only slightlength of the chamber II is mounted a snap ac- 55 ly less than the longitudinal dimension of notch Move- II, and a second downwardly extending portion II which rests on an extension Ii of contact support arm II. The P p se of making block II 0! two separate materials as shown, portion II being of metal, is to insure portion II against breakage due to its necessarib thin configuration.

A leaf spring II secured to the upper portion of heater chamber II biases block II downwardlywhile a leaf spring II mounted on contact support arm II biases block II to the left and against the upper portion of chamber II when the parts are in theposition shown in Figure 1.

A manual reset lever II is pivoted in the casing II. The lower end oi lever" is attached to a connection II which in turn passes through a slot II in block II.

In order to assure uniform operation of the device at various ambient temperatures a second thermostatic element II is mounted outside the casing II by means of a support II. A post 'II extends between thermostatic element II and thermostatic disc II so they will necessarily move together. Thermostatic element" is of the slow .action type rather than snap acting 'as thermo- I I static disc II. As shown inFigurei disc IIisin its "cold" position so that contacts IT and II are in engagement. The high expansion metal of bi- .7 metal disc II is on the left so that heat supplied to theheaters II and II tendstobuckle disc II to the left to open the contacts. If no ambient temperature compensation was provided heaters II and II would cause disc II to snap-to the left at a lower current flow when the ambient temperature was high than when it was low. By mounting disc II to oppose the action of disc II it is possible to load disc II at higher ambient temperatures so that the temperature at which it operates will depend only on the amount of heat being thrown of! by heaters II and II.

The operation of this overload cut-out will be seen from Figures 1 through I. Figure 1 shows the normal position of the operating partsoi the device. Downwardly extending portion II of block II is resting on the cylindrical portion of post II while downwardly extendingportion II is resting on extension I1 of contact arm II. Wben heaters II and II become excessively hot thermostatic disc II will snap to the left allowing contact II to move away from contact II. Block II will then have assumed the position shown in Figure 2. Since notch II is practically the same to conical portion II. Opening of contacts I1 and II stops the now of current through heaters II and II so that thermostatic disc II will start to cool ofl. When it cools sufficiently it will opasoasov the portion or heater chamber II- which it had formerly abutted. The downwardly extending portion II on the right hand end 0! the block II is pulled to the left suiiiciently to enable it to drop from extension II of contact support arm II..

The circuit to the heaters is now open and they will start to cool down.

When thermostatic disc has cooled sumcientb "it will again snap to the right forcing the parts into the position shown in Figure I. Portion II oibiockIIisiorcedtotherightbynotchIIand the other downwardly extending portion II having engaged extension I! of arm II is in a position to force arm II to the right. Although contact II is here moved to the-position in which it normally engages contact Il, contact II has been moved out of the way and reclosing of the circuit cannot occur.

In order to reestablish the circuit when the parts have assumed the position shown in Figure 5, it is necessary to operate the manual reset lever II. Operating lever II liits the block II upwardly against the tension of spring II, disengaging portion II from notch II and portion II irom extension I! of arm II, allowing arm II to move contact I! back to normal position as shown in Figure 1. To prevent block II from assuming the position shown in Figure 3, spring II is provided to bias block II to the ieit so that down- '0 wardly extending portion II is sure to rest on the cylindrical portion of post II when lifted by operation of the manual reset lever.

In controlling a single phase circuit only one of the heaters II or II would be employed and the circuit could be broken directly through contacts I1 and II.

However, in protecting a three-phase circuit against overload it is desirable to employ a relay .tor II by awire I1.

crate to snap the contacts to their closed position as shown in Figure 3. But since portion II was resting'on the conical surface II movement of post II to the right will resultin portion II sliding into notch II. The parts are so proportioned that this position of block II allows the contacts to reclose.

If the overload has not been removed from the line, heaters II and II will again become execs-- tobreakeachoitbethreepbases. Buchan 'arrangementis shown in Figure 6.

A refrigeration compressor motor II is supplied with electric current by three supply wires operating coil II. arms II, II, and II which are adapted to cooperate with contacts II, II, and II, respectively.

A wire II connects contact arm II with binding post II shown in Figure] while binding post II which is connected to the other side of the same heater II is connected to compressor mo- Contact arm II is directly connected to motor II by a wire. A wire II connects contact arm II with binding post II shown in Figure 1 whilethe associated binding post II is connected to motor II by a wire II.

The contacts I1 and II of the device of Figure 1 are here connected in a control circuit. The control circuit includes a wire." leading from supply wire II to one terminal of a mercury switch II 01' a controller II which may be responsive to anyone of a number 01' conditions such as temperature or pressure. The other terminal of switch is connected by a wire II to binding post II which binding post is connected to contact II or the device of Figure 1. Binding post II is connected by a wire II to one side of relay operating coil II. Wire III connects the other side of operating coil II to supply wire II to complete the control circuit. Since the contacts I1 and II of the device of Figure l are normally closed, relay II is normally closed when controller II has tipped mercury switch II to closed position due to a need for refrigeration. Overload in any of the wires oi the supply circuit will, however. result. in opening of the contacts of the cut-out device as previously described to deenergize the operating- I5 and consequently stop mo- I 'iection or substantially the width oi: said notch and a part normally extending over said ledge. said projection normally resting against said raised portion and adapted to fall to said reduced portion on the first snap opening movement of said second contact, and to iall into said notch illustrative only and the scope. of the invention is to be determined only by the appended claims, v

I claim as my invention: -l. In an electrical switch, in combination, a normally stationary contact, a movable contact movable into and out of engagement with the normally stationary contact when in its normal position, first means to move the movable contact, and second means actuated by the first means to move the normally stationary contact out of the range of movement or the movable contact after a predetermined number of movements of the movable contact.

2. In an, electrical switch, in combination, a, normally stationary contact, a movable contact movable into and out of engagement with the normally stationary contact when in its normal position, first means to move the movable contact, second means actuated by the first means to move the normally stationary contact out of the range of movement of the movableeontact after a predetermined number of movements of the movable contact, and manually operable means to return the normally stationary contact to its normal position.

3. In an electrical switch, in combination, a first'contact, a support for said first contact holding it normally stationary, a second contact, means to move said second contact into and out of engagement with said first contact when said first contact is in its normally stationary position, a shoulder on said means, a ledge on said support, and a member cooperable with said shoulder and said ledge after a predeterminednumber oi. movements of said movable contact to move said iirst contact'out oi the range or movement of said second contact.

4. In an electrical switch, in combination, a first'contact, a support for said iirst contact holding it normally stationary, a second contact, means tomove said second contact into on reolosing oi said contacts, and said part being adapted to engage said ledge on the second closing movement 0! said first contact to force said first contact out or the range of movement of said second contact.

6; An automatic resetting circuit breaker comprising a thermostatic element, an electrical heater in heat exchange relation to the thermostatic element adapted to heat the element in proportion to the current flowing in a circuit being protected, a switch in control of the circuit being protected comprising a movable contact operatively connected to the thermostatic element and a normally stationary'contact, the thermostatic element being adapted to move the movable contact out of engagement with the normally stationary contact on heating thereof to a predetermined temperature and to move the mov- 'able contact back into engagement with the normally stationar contact on cooling thereof to a predetermined lower temperature, and means actuated by the thermostatic element for moving the. normally stationary contact out of engagement with the movable contact due to overload in the circuit being protected.

7. An automatically resetting circuit breaker comprising a thermostatic disc or the type adapted to snap to one position on attaining a predetermined temperature and to snap to another position at a predetermined lower temperature, a heater in series with the circuit being protected and in heat exchange relation with the thermoand out of engagement with said first contact manually operable means to release said member from said shoulder and said ledge.

5. In an electrical switch, in combination, a first contact, a support for said contact to hold ,it normally stationary, a ledge on saidfsupport,

a second contact normally in engagement with said first contact, means to move said second contact into and out of engagement with said first contact with a snap action when said first contact is in its normally stationary position,-a

member movable with said second contact including a raised portion, a reduced portion intermediate said raised portion and said second contact, and a notch between said raised and said reduced portions, and a member havinga prostatic disc, a switch in control 01 the circuit being protected comprising a movable contact operatively connected to the thermostatic disc and a normally stationary contact, and means actuated by the thermostatic disc to move the normally stationary contact out of the range 01 movement of the movable contact after a predetermined number of movements of the movable contact due to overload'in the circuit being protected.

8. In an electric switch, in combination, a normally stationary contact, a movable contact movable into and out of engagement with the normally stationary contact when in its normal position, a thermostatic element, a heater adapted to heat the thermostatic element to move the movable contact, and means actuated by the thermostatic element to move the normally sta-' I tionary contact out of the range of movement of the movable contact after a predetermined num-' ber of movements of the movable contact.

9. In an electric switch, in combination, a normally stationary contact, a movable contact movable into and out of engagement with the normally stationary contact when in its normal position, a heater, a thermostatic element adapted to move the movable contact out of engage;

ment with the normally stationary contact with a snap action when heated to a predetermined temperature'by the heater, and to move the movable contact into engagement with the normally stationary contact with a snap action at a pre-- 10. In anelectric switch, in combination, a normalLv stationary contact, a movable contact movable into and out of engagement with the normally stationary contact when in its normal position, a heater, a snap action thermostatic clement adapted to move the movable contact out of engagement with the normally stationary contact with a snap action when heated to a predetermined temperature by the heater, and to move the movable contact into engagement with the normally stationary contact with a snap action at a predetermined lower temperature, means actuated by the thermostatic element to move the normally stationary contact out oi the range of movement of the movable contact after a predetermined number of movements of the movable contact, and a second thermostatic element sub-.

ject to ambient temperature and adapted to physically oppose the first thermostatic element upon variations in ambient temperatures,

11. In an electric switch, in combination, a stationary contact, a movable contact, a bimetal snap action disc for actuating the movable contact into and out of engagement with the stationary contact, a heater to actuate the disc and a thermostatic element operatively connected to the disc for physically opposing the disc on changes in ambient temperature.

12. An overload cutout comprising, in combination, a pair of contacts for controlling an electric circuit, movable means aifected by a condition of the circuit for moving at least one oi! said contacts into and out of engagement with the other, and supplemental means for moving the other of said contacts to prevent engagement of said contacts after a predetermined number of movements 01' said movable means.

13. In an overload cutout comprising a pair of mating contacts and a load responsive device, a thermal snapping member responsive to said device ior actuating said contacts, and a thermostatic element associated with said member to physically oppose and hence modify the action thereof in accordance with variations in ambient temperature.

14. In an overload cutout comprising a pair of mating contacts and a load responsive device, a

first thermostatic snapping disc responsive to said device for actuating said contacts, and a second thermostatic disc connected with said first disc, said two discs being adapted to physically oppose each other on a temperature change so that one will compensate the other for variations in ambient temperature.

15. In an overload cutout comprising a pair of mating contacts and a load responsive device, a pair of rigidly connected thermostatic discs for actuating said contacts, said discs being adapted to exert forces in opposite directions and hence physically oppose each other on a change in ambient temperature so that one will compensate the other for variations in ambient temperature, and one of said discs being affected by said load responsive device.

ALWIN B. NEWTON. 

